Ultimate Combating Championship (UFC) Middleweight scrappers Luke Rockhold and Paulo Costa will sq. off this weekend (Sat., Aug. 20, 2022) at UFC 278 inside of Vivint Space in Salt Lake The town, Utah.

Events have been tough since Rockhold out of place the establish once more in June 2016. He’s fought merely thrice throughout the ultimate six years, suffering a few knockout losses (to great combatants) and a success just a single time. This is his first fight once more at Middleweight since 2018, so it’ll be interesting to look how the load decrease affects his potency at 37 years of age. Within the interim, with Costa, we’re however left wondering if there shall be a weight decrease the least bit! The Brazilian acted a fool throughout the lead up to his Marvin Vettori fight, on the other hand the entire ones weigh-in shenanigans were more straightforward to disregard when the real fight itself was stupidly awesome. Nevertheless, if Costa wants to stick a top-ranked Middleweight, he has to in reality make weight and win proper right here.

Let’s take a better take a look on the keys to victory for each man:

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BLOCKBUSTER WELTERWEIGHT REMATCH! Ultimate Combating Championship (UFC) returns to Vivint Space in Salt Lake The town, Utah, on Sat., Aug. 20, 2022, for the principle time in more than 5 years, headlined by means of a blockbuster Welterweight championship bout that may see Kamaru Usman run it once more with No. 2-ranked contender, Leon Edwards. In UFC 278’s pay-per-view (PPV) co-main match, No. 4-seeded Middleweight contender, Paulo Costa, targets to damage the return of former 185-pound champion, Luke Rockhold. And ultimate on the other hand not least, former Featherweight champion and all-time great, Jose Aldo, returns to Bantamweight movement, too!

Don’t omit a single 2nd of EPIC face-punching movement!

Luke Rockhold

File: 16-5
Key Wins: Chris Weidman (UFC 194), Ronaldo Souza (Strikeforce: Barnett vs Kharitonov), Lyoto Machida (UFC on FOX 15), Tim Kennedy (Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Kennedy), Dave Division (UFC Fight Night time time 116)
Key Losses: Michael Bisping (UFC 199), Yoel Romero (UFC 221), Vitor Belfort (UFC on FX 8), Jan Blachowicz (UFC 239)
Keys to Victory: Rockhold is one of the will have to brutal top avid avid gamers in UFC history, a terrifying mix of vicious ground strikes and submissions. Seriously, any time Rockhold got on top of any opponent in his UFC occupation, the fight was over. On the ft, Rockhold has always been a devastating kicker with an unpleasant check out hook.

This are compatible up in reality illustrates Rockhold’s historic problem throughout the Octagon. If he’ll get on top of Costa, he maximum without a doubt brutalizes him, on the other hand does Rockhold have the wrestling to do so? Historically, it’s exhausting to be confident in his takedowns against this type of massive and technical defensive wrestler.

Almost definitely, this is a kickboxing are compatible.

If that is the case, Rockhold’s coverage is very important. Nevertheless to in this day and age, his very best display of boxing were given right here throughout the first round of his first against Yoel Romero. Inside the potency, Rockhold doubled up on the jab, pivoted off with strikes, and most often put together combinations far upper than at any stage in the past.

He’s going to want to box like that continuously, along with rip quite a lot of liver kicks, if he’s to have any chance at horrifying Costa.

Paulo Costa

File: 13-2
Key Wins: Yoel Romero (UFC 241), Uriah Hall (UFC 226), Johny Hendricks (UFC 217), Oluwale Bamgbose (UFC 212)
Key Losses: Israel Adesanya (UFC 253), Marvin Vettori (UFC Vegas 41)
Keys to Victory: Costa may be all burly muscle and meathead, on the other hand he’s in reality further of a amount puncher than herbal knockout artist. Sure, the beefy Brazilian hits exhausting and has the knockout wins to end up it, on the other hand it’s a very powerful distinction that body images and pressure tend to result in those finishes rather than a single heavy connection.

Conversely, Rockhold does not typically like extended exchanges. He’s a fighter who likes to rip a big hook or left kick from distance, reset, and then do it all over again. Costa has been potshotted in the past — by means of “The Stylebender” — so it’s important that he doesn’t allow Rockhold to play his game in this are compatible up.

Costa has the durability, conditioning and power to pressure Rockhold. He has to do so continuously by means of focusing on lowering off the cage. Costa has a nice power kick of his non-public, and he should be ripping it into the Southpaw’s open facet to slow him down.

Once Costa finds the pocket, he has to stay there. As Rockhold tries to once more away, Costa should be concentrated at the body and chasing his opponent with combinations. Given Rockhold’s history with the left hook, in all probability the move downstairs then left hook high is usually a good combination since the aggressor.

Bottom Line

Each and every men are in must-win territory.

Rockhold maximum without a doubt retires with any other loss proper right here. He’d be 0-3 across the ultimate 5 years and easily a couple of months transparent of his thirty 8th birthday — not a good situation for the former champion. At the equivalent time, if Rockhold does defy the odds and take out Costa, that’s a Highest 5 win. In a division mild on contenders that haven’t been slapped around by means of the champion, that suggests something, and Rockhold might simply find himself in festival once all over again.

Costa can’t let a fighter from a previous technology on a losing streak take him out. It’s one thing to cough up a loss to Vettori in a badass fight, on the other hand this can be a nasty loss. Costa has expressed passion in moving over to the boxing ring, and defeat would surely facilitate that transition.

If he wants to stick a similar Middleweight contender, however, “Borrachinha” has to bounce once more to the win column.

At UFC 278, Luke Rockhold and Paulo Costa will move to combat. Which man has his hand raised?

Remember that MMAmania.com will send LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 278 fight card correct proper right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” suits online, which can be scheduled to begin out at 6 p.m. ET, then the remainder undercard steadiness on ABC/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, previous than the PPV main card get began time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the most recent and biggest UFC 278: “Usman vs. Edwards 2” knowledge and notes be sure you hit up our entire match archive correct proper right here.